On the Jackson Town Talk forum today, MLIVE user "tomkidsfirst" posted a message outraged that the Jackson School Board canceled last night's meeting so district employees could attend the Jackson High School basketball game in Lansing.

"Again, just one more time that this school board has shown everyone where its priorities are!"

I posted a response, telling "tomkidsfirst" to contact me and share his/her "opinion about the school board canceling last night's meeting to see the boys basketball lose in regional semifinals..."

Chad, you make clear your biases in your postings/blog. Your reporting suffers. It is hard to take your stories seriously after you inject your opinion throughout the site. The way you worded your posting makes clear your feelings.

micherik:
It's called context. The decision on what do with a Tomlinson has been on the table for at least two years. The board was asked to make a decision in July when they closed Wilson, but declined. Six months later, they were asked to make a decision at the February meeting at Amy Firth Middle School, but punted again.

The school superintendent and operations director have repeatedly said a decision must be made this month about whether to move the alternative high school program to Wilson, if there is to be any further repairs at Wilson before next fall. It really needed to be done last month in order to line up the lowest construction bids as possible, according to these public officials.

The district has been sitting on $750,000+ of taxpayer's 2004 bond money since 2005 as this decision on whether to renovate has been delayed. When taxpayers were promised repairs to all JPS buildings in November 2004, it included repairs to Tomlinson. That promise has been delayed by everything from local politics to outraged employees to athletics.

Meanwhile, the cost of materials continues to rise and contractors get booked up for the season, even in this down market. So that means the district will get less bang for your buck.

This isn't bias. It's called putting things in historical context and holding people accountable.